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07/20 10:48 CDT Spain's World Cup champions head home for a royal welcome and a
parade through Madrid
Spain's World Cup champions head home for a royal welcome and a parade through
Madrid
By SUMAN NAISHADHAM
Associated Press
MADRID (AP) --- Spain's World Cupwinning soccer team returned home on Monday,
where the 26-man squad is due to meet with Spain's royals and Prime Minister
Pedro Snchez before boarding an open-top bus for a raucous parade through
central Madrid.
Throngs of fans will greet them as they travel down Madrid's historic avenues
from near Moncloa Palace, the prime minister's official residence, to Cibeles
Square.
A ceremony with the players will then be held at the square, where previous
Spanish national teams and their supporters have traditionally gathered to
celebrate.
Spain walked off with the trophy at Sunday's final after defeating
now-dethroned champion Argentina 1-0 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It was
only the second time --- after a 2010 victory in South Africa --- that Spain
won the title.
The Spanish team was congratulated Sunday by the leaders of the three countries
that co-hosted the tournament --- U.S. President Donald Trump, Mexican
President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
After the final whistle, the Spanish capital erupted into celebrations, with
thousands of supporters pouring into the streets from bars and restaurants,
many draped in Spanish flags or wearing the team's colors.
Crowds packed Madrid's Puerta de Sol and other major squares --- singing,
dancing and setting off flares while car horns blared throughout the capital.
Many celebrated Sunday's victory long into the wee hours of Monday morning.
"I'm very happy. I've slept three or four hours, but for the team, I'll do
whatever it takes," said 19 year-old Victor Alvarez early Monday.
The World Cup victory, combined with the Women's World Cup won by Spain in
2023, makes the European nation the first to hold both the men's and women's
titles simultaneously.
"Honestly, it was very exciting. We preferred not to go to any bar or anything,
to experience it at home, focused and very happy, very joyful," 59-year-old
civil servant Gema Rodero said.
Celebrations were dampened, however, after local authorities reported that a
13-year old in Salamanca, northwest of Madrid, had died after a fountain he had
climbed onto with friends to celebrate had collapsed.
For many young supporters, the Spanish team's triumph is their first time
witnessing the men's team lift the trophy --- and the national delirium that
has followed.
Spain today is markedly different from the country in 2010, when the Iberian
nation was beset by a debt crisis, 20% unemployment and nationalist regions
fighting to win greater autonomy. Today, Spain's economy is expanding, the
unemployment rate has halved and the country is forecast to again be among the
Eurozone's fastest-growing major economies. Nationalist and separatist tensions
have considerably cooled.
Ahead of the team's return, supporters waited in Madrid's Barajas airport ready
to greet them in an arrivals hall, many donning the team's jerseys and waving
Spanish flags.
Groups of supporters also began securing their spots near Cibeles Square late
Monday morning, bringing umbrellas to protect against the sun and temperatures
that are expected to climb to 35 Celsius (95 Fahrenheit).
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See more of AP's World Cup coverage here
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